Book Review: This is What Happy Looks Like

Title: This is What Happy Looks Like

Author: Jennifer E Smith

Genre: YA Fiction

Book Blurb:

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Review:

Wow....I haven't read contemporary fiction in a loooonnngg time.  I have been depraved of stories that don't have bombs/explosions/murders happening every two chapters, lol.  Anyways, This Is What Happy Looks Like was exactly what I needed to refresh and recharge myself.  Before I get started, let me get this out: there are quite a bit of cliches in this book.  Does that prevent me from loving it? No.  Hear me out.

The characters are very dynamic--btw, this novel is told from 2 POVs--Graham and Ellie.  They couldn't have been more different.  Ellie is the daughter of a single mother, trying to save up enough money for a poetry camp.  Graham is a movie star who drops hundred dollar bills like pennies.  I know I know what you're thinking: Seriously, Tina?  Could this get any more cliche?

Ahh...but here's the twist:  Ellie doesn't know who Graham is.  Hell, she doesn't even know his first name.  Same goes with Graham--he doesn't Ellie's name.  You see, this all started when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an email asking her to walk Wilbur.  Wilbur's a pig.  And Graham enjoys quoting Charlotte's Web.  So yeah, that's not so cliche now, no?

I'm not going to blab on about the plot except that the novel covers huge chunks of time--like one chapter skipped over 3 weeks.  This is not the say the plot the particularly fast paced (its medium paced), but the author was smart enough to know that readers don't enjoy "fluff" chapters, hence why she fast forwarded several weeks at a time, if needed, since nothing important happens.  Oh--and there's also a plot twist regarding Ellie's dad that ends in a bitter sweet way.  Same goes with the ending--it's bitter sweet.

I thoroughly enjoyed Smith's writing style.  It flowed quite well and is dynamic.  There aren't many long, descriptive sentences, which prevented the novel from slowing down.  

Over all, This Is What Happy Looks Like is such a sweet book; I would recommend this book if you're looking for a pick-me-up read.  

I'm going to leave off with this one quote I loved:

"It was a little bit like taffy, this friendship of theirs; you could stretch it and pull it and bend it all out of shape, but it was no easy thing to break it entirely."

Rating: